A line that really caught me in the essay "On Difficulty in Poetry" was that we should look for a "field of meanings" in a poem rather than searching for one specific meaning. That was a very clear answer to a question I've had as long as I've been reading poetry in English classes. Everyone wants to know what the meaning of a poem is and how to find it. Shepherd says that we don't have to find one sole meaning, but rather there are many meanings mixed into one to form the poem as a whole. Did anyone else find this line to be helpful?- NVa-c Feb 25, 2008 This page was last revised by JJa-c on Mar 13, 2008 9:49 pm.
"A field of meanings." I must admit I'm a little torn on this topic. From what I've read, I think that poems in and of themselves do not have multiple meanings. The poet wrote it for one purpose, which often eludes our comprehension. This is where your quote comes into play, Nick. When analyzing poetry, we need to seek a variety of meanings because we do not know what the real one is. By looking at different possibilities, we think critically and thus begin to eliminate some options. We continue to do this until we find the golden truth, the meaning that the poet intended for us to find. As that guy from the yellowbook commercial says, "The more paths one can choose, the easier the quest."- JHe-c Feb 25, 2008
I must say, I have never experienced a golden truth moment in my life. Given, my life has not been long in the world of poetry, but I don't see a poem as a code waiting to be cracked, and you keep finding numbers to the combination, and then suddenly, click! The lock opens and there lies the golden truth. Sometimes a poem has a meaning that is so prominent that all but one possibility for meaning have been ruled out. Understood. But sometimes consciousness plays a limited role in the making of a poem, and I don't think the human subconscious can be simplified into black-and-white, one level answer. On a grand scale, human beings are insignificant, but on a small scale, we are quite complex. A poem can be looked at as a result of this complexity. We do not just write sentences saying what we mean. Sometimes we don't know what we mean. And I don't like this business of classifying a poem, labeling it, and shoving it to the side. No, we can never know what the writer was thinking the very moment (s)he wrote the poem. We have gone over this plenty of times. We don't share brains with the writer, but we do share complexity. And that can give us a lead. - KLe-c Feb 26, 2008
I did find that metaphor to be quite useful because it helped me think about the role of forms in making a poem. Depending on how a poem is written, it can either expand or shrink the field or even possibly add something unexpected. The image of a field is to me the best way to describe a poem because you really do reap what you sow from a poem. If you take a poem at face value and nothing more, then you will not get much from it. On the other hand if you take your time with a poem and try to find a meaning that speaks to you, then you have the opportunity of expanding your mind. Plus whenever I think of a poem as a field, it reminds about how broad or narrow the term "poem" can be. One can either fence it in or simply just let it go.- MSu-c Feb 26, 2008
I like this idea of a "field of meanings." While the poet may have had a meaning in mind, as John assumes, they may not have. Remember when Br. Tom passed out his poem, and told us that he didn't know what it meant? It was definitely a poem, but is it possible that there is only one "golden truth" contained in that string of words? I don't think so. While poets arrange words in certain ways to open paths of thoughts in certain directions, I don't think that any poet writes a poem because they want to communicate something very specific. If that was the case, they would write a scientific article. No, I think the poet understands that he is enabling his readers to think in new directions, and he can intend to direct that, but ultimately, poetry has a lot to do with how we see the words personally, the opportunity for some truth that may not be the same for everyone. - lsi-c Feb 26, 2008
Yea it's the best term I have heard so far to describe what a poem contains or is trying to do. As most will agree, a poem isn't just about one thing, it's about certain experiences or beliefs about life and none of these can be narrowed down to one thesis. As with many of the most worthwhile things in life, the poem is not pinned down to expressing itself in one way or another, it has many ways to be looked at, and consequently has many meanings, or a field as he said. So yea I liked that sentence a lot too.- mka-c Feb 27, 2008
I definately think that poetry can have a "field of meanings." I happens all the time with songs. Look at the song "Good Riddance" by Green Day, it's a break up song but it's used as a goodbye/graduation song all the time. I do think that poetry does sometimes have a specific meaning, it's hard to disagree with what Beowulf is about, but at the same time I think poetry could have no meaning at all. A big part of poetry is the sounds and rhythms. I believe that poetry could also just be about what it sounds like--kind of like the classical music of literature. It evokes emotion, but there is no clear intention. - adi-c Feb 28, 2008
If a poet does not have a specific idea in mind when he or she writes, does that mean that the poem does not have one main meaning? When Brother Tom says he does not know what his poems mean, it does not mean that the themes of his poems are up for debate. I really think that the "field of meanings" is a lot more narrow than you all seem to think that it is. A field of meanings does not necessarily mean that just any meaning can be found in a poem. It seems that "meaning" in this sense is meant as a variation on the theme. Depending on where you are in life, your mind may emphasize certain aspects of the theme, which will create a different meaning for you, but the theme is still the same. And I think that that theme is fairly singular. It may express many facets of one topic, but that is about as far as it goes. The field of facets are what we pick up on. But maybe that is what everybody is saying already, and I just don't understand what you are saying. - TRu-c Feb 28, 2008
I discussed in a different post the idea of not always looking for the meaning but looking for your personal reaction to the poem as your primary goal when you read a poem. However, when one analyzes a poem, as we have to do in English classes, I think looking for many meanings is very important. A great example is the poem Warming Her Pearls. Many people immediatly jumped to the idea of the woman being a lesbian, but if we really take a look at the poem this is not necessairly true. As I discussed in a different post, she could've been a sister or a jealous maid. But this goes to show you how important it is to look for different meanings. If we were to assume that she was lesbian right off the bat, we might look at this poem in a different light right off the bat too. Therefore, it is very important to look for a field of meanings. - ptr-c Mar 13, 2008
I agree Ptr because I am one to always look for multiple meanings. I am not satisfied with just one definite interpretation. That to me is boring and in another topic it was about how once you find the meaning of a poem you can throw it away. I did not favor that idea at all because I ant to believe that a poem can be what i want it to be, but i make it that way using what the author has written. I like to spin off of multiple ideas and just keep going and going. I also like to take each line and see if is can find even more meanig than in just the whole of the poem. Shepherd's idea was very comforting because that is exactly what i like to do--keep finding meaning. - JJa-c Mar 13, 2008
This page was last revised by JJa-c on Mar 13, 2008 9:49 pm.
"A field of meanings." I must admit I'm a little torn on this topic. From what I've read, I think that poems in and of themselves do not have multiple meanings. The poet wrote it for one purpose, which often eludes our comprehension. This is where your quote comes into play, Nick. When analyzing poetry, we need to seek a variety of meanings because we do not know what the real one is. By looking at different possibilities, we think critically and thus begin to eliminate some options. We continue to do this until we find the golden truth, the meaning that the poet intended for us to find. As that guy from the yellowbook commercial says, "The more paths one can choose, the easier the quest."-
I must say, I have never experienced a golden truth moment in my life. Given, my life has not been long in the world of poetry, but I don't see a poem as a code waiting to be cracked, and you keep finding numbers to the combination, and then suddenly, click! The lock opens and there lies the golden truth. Sometimes a poem has a meaning that is so prominent that all but one possibility for meaning have been ruled out. Understood. But sometimes consciousness plays a limited role in the making of a poem, and I don't think the human subconscious can be simplified into black-and-white, one level answer. On a grand scale, human beings are insignificant, but on a small scale, we are quite complex. A poem can be looked at as a result of this complexity. We do not just write sentences saying what we mean. Sometimes we don't know what we mean. And I don't like this business of classifying a poem, labeling it, and shoving it to the side. No, we can never know what the writer was thinking the very moment (s)he wrote the poem. We have gone over this plenty of times. We don't share brains with the writer, but we do share complexity. And that can give us a lead. -
I did find that metaphor to be quite useful because it helped me think about the role of forms in making a poem. Depending on how a poem is written, it can either expand or shrink the field or even possibly add something unexpected. The image of a field is to me the best way to describe a poem because you really do reap what you sow from a poem. If you take a poem at face value and nothing more, then you will not get much from it. On the other hand if you take your time with a poem and try to find a meaning that speaks to you, then you have the opportunity of expanding your mind. Plus whenever I think of a poem as a field, it reminds about how broad or narrow the term "poem" can be. One can either fence it in or simply just let it go.-
I like this idea of a "field of meanings." While the poet may have had a meaning in mind, as John assumes, they may not have. Remember when Br. Tom passed out his poem, and told us that he didn't know what it meant? It was definitely a poem, but is it possible that there is only one "golden truth" contained in that string of words? I don't think so. While poets arrange words in certain ways to open paths of thoughts in certain directions, I don't think that any poet writes a poem because they want to communicate something very specific. If that was the case, they would write a scientific article. No, I think the poet understands that he is enabling his readers to think in new directions, and he can intend to direct that, but ultimately, poetry has a lot to do with how we see the words personally, the opportunity for some truth that may not be the same for everyone. -
Yea it's the best term I have heard so far to describe what a poem contains or is trying to do. As most will agree, a poem isn't just about one thing, it's about certain experiences or beliefs about life and none of these can be narrowed down to one thesis. As with many of the most worthwhile things in life, the poem is not pinned down to expressing itself in one way or another, it has many ways to be looked at, and consequently has many meanings, or a field as he said. So yea I liked that sentence a lot too.-
I definately think that poetry can have a "field of meanings." I happens all the time with songs. Look at the song "Good Riddance" by Green Day, it's a break up song but it's used as a goodbye/graduation song all the time. I do think that poetry does sometimes have a specific meaning, it's hard to disagree with what Beowulf is about, but at the same time I think poetry could have no meaning at all. A big part of poetry is the sounds and rhythms. I believe that poetry could also just be about what it sounds like--kind of like the classical music of literature. It evokes emotion, but there is no clear intention.
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If a poet does not have a specific idea in mind when he or she writes, does that mean that the poem does not have one main meaning? When Brother Tom says he does not know what his poems mean, it does not mean that the themes of his poems are up for debate. I really think that the "field of meanings" is a lot more narrow than you all seem to think that it is. A field of meanings does not necessarily mean that just any meaning can be found in a poem. It seems that "meaning" in this sense is meant as a variation on the theme. Depending on where you are in life, your mind may emphasize certain aspects of the theme, which will create a different meaning for you, but the theme is still the same. And I think that that theme is fairly singular. It may express many facets of one topic, but that is about as far as it goes. The field of facets are what we pick up on. But maybe that is what everybody is saying already, and I just don't understand what you are saying. -
I discussed in a different post the idea of not always looking for the meaning but looking for your personal reaction to the poem as your primary goal when you read a poem. However, when one analyzes a poem, as we have to do in English classes, I think looking for many meanings is very important. A great example is the poem Warming Her Pearls. Many people immediatly jumped to the idea of the woman being a lesbian, but if we really take a look at the poem this is not necessairly true. As I discussed in a different post, she could've been a sister or a jealous maid. But this goes to show you how important it is to look for different meanings. If we were to assume that she was lesbian right off the bat, we might look at this poem in a different light right off the bat too. Therefore, it is very important to look for a field of meanings. -
I agree Ptr because I am one to always look for multiple meanings. I am not satisfied with just one definite interpretation. That to me is boring and in another topic it was about how once you find the meaning of a poem you can throw it away. I did not favor that idea at all because I ant to believe that a poem can be what i want it to be, but i make it that way using what the author has written. I like to spin off of multiple ideas and just keep going and going. I also like to take each line and see if is can find even more meanig than in just the whole of the poem. Shepherd's idea was very comforting because that is exactly what i like to do--keep finding meaning. -